Tormenting Kurome
by Brooke Chiang
Summary: In a bleak alternate after-ending for Akame Ga Kill, Night Raid is all dead (including Akame, who perished together with Esdeath in their duel, and Najenda, who overused Susanoo), and Wave and Kurome are the only survivors of the Jaegers. The new Kingdom founded by the revolution is highly unstable, quickly corrupted, and embroiled in war... and a terrible fate awaits them!


Kurome, one time assassin of the former Empire, a surviving veteran of the Group of Terror, Elite Seven, Dark Squad, and Jaegers, knelt beside the tombstone in her garden and shed a tear. "Sister… if only you were still around… we could have used you now. My baby… is very lively today. I'd definitely bring him or her to see you once they're born."

It had been two years since the Empire had been overthrown. Her older sister, Akame, had perished in a final confrontation with Imperial General Esdeath, a duel in which two of the most elite Imperial Arms users in existence had impaled and killed each other.

The war had wiped out most of the elite soldiers on both sides, with Night Raid completely eliminated, while she and Wave were the only surviving Jaegers. With much of the leadership on both sides dead and the Capital descending into post-revolutionary violence and chaos, the two of them had fled to the countryside outside the Capital, married, and built themselves a small farm.

It was a fairly-peaceful and sparsely-populated locale and the few neighbors were quite friendly, with the only threats being occasional Danger Beasts or bandits. Of which Wave and Kurome made short work of even without their Imperial Arms.

But the couple did keep up with news elsewhere via passing travelers, soldiers, and extortive tax collectors. And things did not sound good.

The last Emperor, the young boy Makoto, had been crucified and murdered by a vengeful revolutionary mob that had stormed the ruins of the Imperial Palace, and Prime Minister Honest's mangled remains had been discovered not long afterward and paraded through the streets.

After everything had calmed down, the surviving leaders of the Revolutionary Army (not including General Najenda, who'd already perished from overuse of the Imperial Arms Susanoo while rescuing Tatsumi from Generals Esdeath and Budo) had found a distant relative of the late Emperor to serve as King of the new Kingdom.

However, well-intended as the new monarch was, he was rapidly reduced to a figurehead by the Revolutionary Council, which apparently was quickly becoming stacked with power-hungry, incompetent, or inexperienced individuals. The decimated Capital was also suffering from poverty and famine after the revolution, leading the new government's aforementioned tax collectors to strangle the countryside for resources.

Sensing the regime's weakness, neighboring countries and internal dissidents were quick to take advantage of the situation. The Western Nation, which had been the Revolutionary Army's ally in the war, and received its lost territory in return, had succumbed to angry internal nationalistic sentiment amid tales of how their people had been oppressed by their eastern neighbors during the Empire's occupation. The new nationalist regime in the West had proceeded to invade the Kingdom's new Western border in a bid to seize more territory and "punish" the easterners.

The Northern Tribes, which had suffered brutally at Esdeath's hands had also invaded and begun sacking villages in the Kingdom's north.

In the south, a radical breakaway splinter faction of the Revolutionary Army, calling itself the Popular Republican Army, had allied itself with the southwest Ban Tribe, and was waging a guerrilla war against the Kingdom. They denounced the Revolutionary Army for "betraying the people" by installing another monarchy, and advocated for the total independence of the southern regions.

Furthermore, bands of Imperial loyalists, criminals, and general malcontents had formed an urban insurgent and terrorist group called the "Alliance for the Restoration of the Empire" or ARE and was launching attacks against government, military, and civilian targets within the Capital itself.

In order to deal with the numerous threats on all fronts, the Kingdom was forced to pardon and recommission many soldiers and officers (often times entire units or armies) into its Army, even those accused of corruption and war crimes.

When news reached Wave and Kurome that war had broken out in the east following the secession of the Eastern Islands, Wave asserted he had to go help his family and hometown. Kurome, already four months pregnant, had pleaded for him to stay, but Wave asserted he had an obligation to his parents as well. Kurome, knowing how painful it was to lose family, finally conceded and let him go- on the promise he'd return soon. Wave assured he'd evacuate his villagers to a safer location and try to persuade his parents to move in with them, and return home swiftly.

It'd been three weeks since then, and aside tending to her farm, she spent a lot of time next to Akame's grave. "You know, sis, you never really had a chance to get to know the Jaegers, did you? Or maybe you're met them already, up in heaven. I think… you would like them. If you see Bols, tell him I miss his cooking, heh. And ask how his family is doing- up there… Maybe I would've liked your Night Raid friends had I gotten to know them too. When I have this kid, Wave and I are thinking about taking a trip to the Capitol, and try to pay respects at the graves of our fallen comrades. We know where Bols' grave is… his family is buried there too… after what the evil Wild Hunt committed there… Wave and I buried what was left of Run and Natala. Too bad I can't ask you where Night Raid's graves are- I would visit them too-"

A knock came at the front door. "Miss Kurome? Miss Kurome?"

It was Mr. Shu, a herder who lived nearby, and frequently passed by their home while herding his sheep.

"I'm coming!" Kurome leapt to her feet and regretted it when she felt a ache in her back. Her body was become slightly unbalanced lately. When she reached the door, she found a flustered Mr. Shu, and another man, looking like a courier, stood behind him. "What's the matter?"

"A messenger from the east! He said… he had dire news… about Wave." Mr. Shu gasped.

Kurome's heart leapt into her throat.

"You match the description…" The messenger managed hesitantly. "So you're Kurome, Wave's wife, huh? I guess… you better brace yourself." He handed Kurome an envelope.

Disregarding the man's warning, Kurome tore the envelope apart and read the two letters contained within. Then her eyes dilated in horror, her hands shook, and the letters fell to the ground. Only Mr. Shu's rapid intervention prevented the wind from whisking them away.

Kurome didn't even notice- she felt like she couldn't breathe, like her heart was being strangled in her chest. She couldn't even cry as she fell to her knees, her eyes staring blankly ahead. "Why? Why?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Irrelevant Historical Fact:

Four years ago on this day, on December 4, 2014, the notorious, radical Islamist terrorist group Caucasus Emirate (affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant- ISIL) launched an attack against the police forces of the the Kadyrov regime in Chechnya. Kadyrov is the puppet president and collaborator with the Russian occupation regime in Chechnya. The terrorists attacked a traffic police checkpoint, seized a media press building and a school. The brutal ensuing firefight killed 11 terrorists, 14 policemen, and 1 civilian.

The attack is believed to have been in response to police brutality and harassment of Muslim women by the Russians and their Kadyrov regime lackeys, and timed to protest Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's highly-propagandized "state-of-the-nation" speech in Moscow.


End file.
